Noise levels & Soundproofing a Victorian mid terrace?

[nick s]

After a bit of advice here really. We've just bought a Victorian mid terrace house, and although i'm not in there yet, i'm beginning to worry a bit about noise through party walls. On one side the staircases are next to each other, so that's fine. But it's the other side i'm worried about. Our living rooms basically back onto each other...

I like to listen to my music at a decent volume, and also play the guitar on the odd occasion. And the last thing I want is to p*ss our neighbours off, and have them constantly complaining and me having to listen to music at annoyingly low volumes! I'm equally concerned about hearing their TV every evening aswell!

So I guess I have two questions;

1) How decent are the Victorian terraces at hiding noisy neighbours? I'm guessing as it is Victorian, that the walls will be pretty thick compared to new build stuff?

2) What are my options for soundproofing? I've heard of things like acoustic quilting, but it seems there are so many options! We're planning on extensive renovations when we move in anyway. So if it's cost effective I would consider doing some soundproofing immediately. would this be worth my while? Would it help?

[FlossyThePig]

nick s said:

...I like to listen to my music at a decent volume, and also play the guitar on the odd occasion. And the last thing I want is to p*ss our neighbours off...

So how loud is decent?
What sort of guitar?

Sound transmission through property walls is usually low frequency, i.e. mainly bass. You need mass. mass and more mass to reduce bass transmission. Depending on the standard of build you may have enough mass with the solid wall between the two properties.

I salute you sir, for considering your neighbours before you have even moved in.

[mildmannered]

FlossyThePig said:

I salute you sir, for considering your neighbours before you have even moved in.

I second this.

But, as an alternative to carrying out lots of work. Why not get to know the neighbours and express your concerns to them. "I play the guitar and really concerned I may be disturbing you, please let me know if it's a nuisance"

You may find that it isn't an issue?

[Craikeybaby]

I live in a mid terrace and find I hear more noise from the side that is stair to stair - they have young children. My only concern was that my office backed onto their young son's bedroom, so bought some decent headphones to listen to music in there. The sound is actually better than from my computer speakers anyway.

But, as above the key thing is to be on good terms with your neighbours and to make sure that you aren't causing them a problem - which should make them think about the noise they are making too.

[AC43]

The party walls are just a double layer of brick. You'll hear a loud TV (a bit) or music at medium to loud volume. Or seriously raised voices.

Sound doesn't just go through the wall - it's transmitted through the floor joists.

To partially sound proof you can install sound deadening material on the wall with a void. They re-do all your coving.

To fully sound proof you start needing to isolate floor joists - very costly of course and more hassle that it's worth.

I looked into all this and didn't go ahead - too costly/